Paintings of Life
by Kye Above
Summary: Twenty-six moments of Linda's life, from her days as a child and teen at Wammy's House and her time as a famous artist. Some LindaxNear 1- Anonym - A False Name


**Linda has always been a character I was interested in, since all that's known about her is her name and that's she's an artist, so I get to use her any way I want. I thought that since I'm distracted from my other stories by Sims 3, I'd write this on the side.**

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Anonym - A False Name

All the children to ever had been at Wammy's House lived under fake names, and for some people, their real names were their only secret. They were often open about everything else, even naming the names of parents and siblings, but the name they were given at birth would always be left unsaid. It was a tradition started many years before Linda's time at Wammy's House, and no one ever questioned questioned it.

Sometimes the children would try to guess the others' real names, mostly in jest and play. Some had given more to go off of than others, as sometimes their name sounded like or was taken from their birth name, and sometimes from something they clearly liked, among other things. Rarely did anyone get close to being correct, and no one ever fully figured out a name.

Many of the the children would use their fake name when they set out into the world. They were called the Wammy Siblings among the knowing, as they all carried their adoptive father's last name. They had a good reputation in the world, and they always had the best opportunities. Even when the females got married, most convinced their new spouse to take on the name of Wammy, since few wanted to lose the name that had given them so much.

But Linda didn't like her fake name anymore. It had become a name associated with many painful memories. But even after leaving Wammy's House, she didn't shed her fake name. Maybe she wanted to remember the pain she experienced. Maybe she was just too attached. She wasn't ever quite sure. She often wanted to be called by her real name, but after so many years as 'Linda', she couldn't even answer to anything but the dreaded name. It was like a person she couldn't give up loving, no matter how much she hated him.

So she stayed Linda Wammy, and made her place as a famous artist under that name. She knew that she would be better respected with the name of the famous inventor, as big name female artists, and female of any high status, were considered laughable, even after all the years that humans had been on Earth and all the improvement that had gone on since then. She often imagined what it would be like if she used her real name, and she decided she was definitely better off as Linda.

"Celine D'Amore" Near says casually during one of their many meetings. She had become a police sketch artist after the end of Kira's rein, when her skills, of being able to create an mostly accurate face with just a few details, were most needed in the world. Near found this quite convenient, and often consulted her when he needed to put a face to a criminal in a case he was working on. She only agreed to help him because of the payment she got in return. She had held some kind of dislike for him for a long time.

"Yes? What about it?" She asks, pausing in her drawing. It's the first time in a long period that she's heard it out loud, her birth name. It took a few seconds before it actually sunk into her mind that Near had discovered it. But because it was Near, she didn't question it. If Near wanted something, or needed any type of information, he would get it. The world was at his fingertips.

"I looked it up, and found that it means 'Heaven of Love'; something that doesn't quite fit you." He shifted his position so he was facing her, though the movement seemed to have really been for the placement of a new wall of cards. He didn't even look at her when he spoke next. "Now Linda, which could be interpreted as soft, tender and beautiful, and Wammy, which means bad luck, misfortune, a devastating blow, a setback, or a catastrophe, describes you much better."

She chuckled humorlessly, and resumed her drawing. He was almost cute sometimes. He didn't seemed to have noticed what he had really said, or at least realized how she had interpreted his words. She was partly annoyed with herself that she heard them in such a way.

"So I'm a beautiful disaster?" She smirked, a smile she had once taught Near to copy. Those who worked for Near seemed to have thought that Near actually smiled that way, but it wasn't his natural smile. She doubted that he had smiled naturally for a long time though, as he wasn't the child he used to be.

Near didn't even have to think her question over, it seemed. Maybe he had realized what he was saying from the moment he said it. Even with his now limited social skills, he could have known the social implications of what he had said, but just didn't care.

"Yes." And then he had turned away, having already completed a wall of cards, and ready to start a new one. Soon he would actually have to stand if he wanted to continue building it, and she knew how little he had been standing lately. It hadn't always been that way, she remembered.

She ended up just sighing as she continued drawing the latest criminal. Life had changed so much for her, for Near, and all those they had known. Mello and Matt weren't even alive anymore. She wanted to be sad for Mello, and a small part of her was, but she could really only feel true sorrow for Matt. She and Mello hadn't been as close as she and Matt had been.

She thought over Near's words once again, to shake away the thoughts of Matt growing in her head. She was everything that Wammy was, though she wasn't quite sure about the meaning of Linda though. But she did think that maybe she could learn to love her fake name once again, just like she could learn to love him once again.


End file.
